Cap with snow globe

ABSTRACT

A cap has a cap body, a threaded flange, and a transparent globe. A liquid composition fills the transparent globe, and contains glitter particles. The threaded flange is for engaging a container body when the cap body is positioned over the container body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to caps for containers, and moreparticularly to caps for nail-polish with an attention-capturingsnow-globe mounted thereupon.

2. Description of Related Art

Caps for nail polish containers come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes,and designs. However, to distinguish one product from another, it isoften desired that some part of a container include a distinctiveappearance or feature. Most caps for nail polish containers are ofsimple plastic design. The present invention seeks to improve upon suchcaps by including an integrated snow-globe for the purpose of catching acustomer's attention and distinguishing the product from its peers.

The prior art teaches simple plastic caps for nail polish containers.However, the prior art does not teach the inclusion of snow globes onthe caps for nail polish containers. The present invention fulfillsthese needs and provides further advantages as described in thefollowing summary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and usewhich give rise to the objectives described below.

The present invention provides a cap having a cap body shaped to coveran opening of a container body. The cap body has a top surface, and aninner surface that extends to a cap perimeter, a threaded flangeextending downwardly from the cap perimeter of the cap body for engagingthe container body around the opening. A transparent globe is mounted onthe top surface of the cap body. A liquid composition with glitterparticles fills the transparent globe.

A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a cap havingadvantages not taught by the prior art.

Another objective is to provide a cap which includes a snow globe forcatching a user's attention.

A further objective is to provide a cap which includes a snow globe fordistinguishing the cap from other caps and/or nail polish products inthe marketplace.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following more detailed description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way ofexample, the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate the present invention. In suchdrawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a nail polish container having a capthat includes a snow globe according to one embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view thereof, with portions of thenail polish container and the cap shown broken away to illustrateinternal portions of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The above-described drawing figures illustrate the invention, a cap 10that includes a snow globe feature for drawing attention to a nailpolish container 11.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cap 10 and the nail polish containeraccording to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is anexploded perspective view thereof, with portions of the nail polishcontainer 11 and the cap 10 shown broken away to illustrate internalportions 13 of the invention.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the nail polish container 11 has acontainer body 12 for containing the nail polish composition 19, thecontainer body 12 having an opening 18 for receiving the nail polishcomposition 19 into an internal chamber of the container body 12. Thecontainer body 12 has a base 14 and an upwardly extending wall 15 thatextends to a threaded flange 16 having a container perimeter 17 thatdefines the opening 18 of the container body 12. The container body 12may be made of any materials known to those skilled in the art (e.g.,plastic, metal, glass, etc.). While FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate oneembodiment of the nail polish container 11, those skilled in the art maydevise alternative embodiments, and these alternative or equivalent areconsidered within the scope of the present invention.

Also as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cap 10 has a cap body 30shaped to cover the opening 18 of the container body 12, the cap body 30having a top surface 33, an inner surface 34 that extends to a capperimeter 36, and a threaded flange 38 that extends downwardly from thecap perimeter 36 for engaging the threaded flange 38 of the containerbody 12 around the opening 18 when the cap body 30 is positioned overthe opening 18.

The threaded flange 38 includes an outer surface 32 that may be plain ordecorated. In the present embodiment, the threading on the threadedflange 38 of the cap 10 is an internal thread, while the threaded flange16 of the nail polish container 11 is an external thread. Such threadingmay be reversed according to one skilled in the art and should beconsidered equivalent and within the scope of the present invention.Other means of locking the cap 10 to the container body 12 may also beused, including alternative structures known to those skilled in theart. The cap body 30 may be made of any materials known to those skilledin the art (e.g., plastic, metal, glass, etc.).

The cap 10 may further include a brush 40 extending downwardly from thecap body 30, for use with the nail polish composition 19 or other fluidin the nail polish container 11. The brush 40 may include an elongatepost 42 that includes a plurality of bristles 44. In use, the user maydip the brush 40 into the nail polish composition 19 while holding ontothe cap 10 and extract some of the nail polish composition 19 forapplication. While FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate one embodiment of the cap10, those skilled in the art may devise alternative embodiments, andthese alternative or equivalent are considered within the scope of thepresent invention.

A transparent globe 50 is mounted on the top surface 33 of the cap body30, for capturing the attention of a user. The transparent globe 50 maybe mounted to the top surface 33 of the cap body 30 by any means knownto one skilled in the art (e.g., gluing, welding, physicallyinterlocking, etc.). The transparent globe 50 may be made of anysuitable material known to those skilled in the art (e.g., glass,plastic, or other suitable transparent material). The transparent globe50 may be spherical in shape, or have other shapes (e.g., cuboid,pyramidal, etc.). The transparency and color of the transparent globe 50may be varied according to one skilled in the art.

The transparent globe 50 may be filled with a liquid composition 60 thatincludes glitter particles 62. The liquid composition 60 may be anysuitable liquid known to those skilled in the art (e.g., water, gel,alcohol, or any other fluid or liquid composition suitable forsuspending the glitter particles 62). As defined in the presentapplication, the term “glitter particles” is defined to include any formof particles or other material that may be suspended within the liquidcomposition to provide the appearance of snow within the transparentglobe, or any other form of sparkling material that is similarlyeye-catching and attractive to consumers.

In the present embodiment, the glitter particles 62 may be slightlynegatively buoyant so that when dispersed throughout the liquidcomposition 60 they slowly sink. In alternate embodiments they may be ofneutral or positive buoyancy. The glitter particles 62 may be made ofany suitable material known to those skilled in the art (e.g., plastic,metal, wood, or any suitable substance known to one skilled in the art).The glitter particles 62 may be of any color or reflectivity, as desiredby one skilled in the art, for providing a pleasing aesthetic.

Also within the transparent globe 50 there may be a decorative symbol70. A variety of symbols may be chosen, such as Christmas symbols, orsymbols related to Halloween, New Year's Day, Easter, or any otheroccasion desired by one skilled in the art. The decorative symbol 70 mayalso portray a location setting, such as a popular skyline like New YorkCity, or the Eifel Tower in Paris, or any other location. The symbol 70may also be any other element that those skilled in the art may wish toinclude (e.g., a trademark, logo, corporate symbol, and/or any otherelement known to those skilled in the art). While FIGS. 1 and 2illustrate one embodiment of the transparent globe 50, those skilled inthe art may devise alternative embodiments, and these alternative orequivalent are considered within the scope of the present invention.

As defined in the present application, the term “nail polish” is definedto include any form of nail polish, gel, lacquer, and any other similarsubstance suitable for being painted on to a nail of a user.

As used in this application, the words “a,” “an,” and “one” are definedto include one or more of the referenced items unless specificallystated otherwise. Also, the terms “have,” “include,” “contain,” andsimilar terms are defined to mean “comprising” unless specificallystated otherwise. Furthermore, the terminology used in the specificationprovided above is hereby defined to include similar and/or equivalentterms, and/or alternative embodiments that would be considered obviousto one skilled in the art given the teachings of the present patentapplication.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cap for covering an opening of a containerbody, the cap comprising: a cap body shaped to cover the opening of thecontainer body, the cap body having a top surface, and an inner surfacethat extends to a cap perimeter; a threaded flange extending downwardlyfrom the cap perimeter of the cap body for engaging the container bodyaround the opening when the cap body is positioned over the opening; atransparent globe mounted on the top surface of the cap body; and aliquid composition that fills the transparent globe, the liquidcomposition containing glitter particles.
 2. The cap of claim 1 whereinthe transparent globe is spherical in shape.
 3. The cap of claim 1further comprising a brush extending downwardly from the cap body. 4.The cap of claim 1 further comprising a brush extending downwardly fromthe cap body, the brush including an elongate post that includes aplurality of bristles.
 5. The cap of claim 1 further comprising adecorative symbol mounted within the transparent globe.
 6. A nail polishcontainer for containing a nail polish composition, the nail polishcontainer comprising: a container body for containing the nail polishcomposition, the container body having an opening for receiving the nailpolish composition into an internal chamber of the container body; a capbody shaped to cover the opening of the container body, the cap bodyhaving an inner surface that extends to a cap perimeter, and a threadedflange that extends downwardly from the cap perimeter for engaging thecontainer body around the opening when the cap body is positioned overthe opening; a brush extending downwardly from the cap body; atransparent globe mounted on the top surface of the cap body; and aliquid composition that fills the transparent globe, the liquidcomposition containing glitter particles.
 7. The nail polish containerof claim 6, wherein the container body has a base and an upwardlyextending wall that extends to a container perimeter that defines theopening of the container body.
 8. The cap of claim 6 wherein thetransparent globe is spherical in shape.
 9. The cap of claim 6 furthercomprising a brush extending downwardly from the cap body.
 10. The capof claim 6 further comprising a brush extending downwardly from the capbody, the brush including an elongate post that includes a plurality ofbristles.
 11. The cap of claim 6 further comprising a decorative symbolmounted within the transparent globe.